


Chivalry

by Eiderdown



Series: Soldier of Fortune, Soldier of Steel [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout), F/M, Fluff, Mild Language, Pre-Relationship, Sexual Harassment, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 02:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18714439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiderdown/pseuds/Eiderdown
Summary: Is it possible to drink peacefully in the Commonwealth, even for a Brotherhood of Steel soldier? Apparently not.A short story with my sole survivor, Grey. Takes place toward the beginning of Danse and Grey's relationship and pre-Blind Betrayal (no spoilers).





	Chivalry

**Author's Note:**

> For a great Fallout tumblr blog: falloutdialogue.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks so much for the prompts and hard work on excellent posts. I hope you enjoy it!

“And I said to him ‘Enjoy your meal!’ and dropped bowl of iguana bits on his idiot head!” Vadim’s boisterous laughter echoed through the dimly lit bar. It was technically past closing time and almost all the Diamond City locals had dispersed to their various homes or mattresses. There was one serious drinker still finishing his bottle in a shadowy corner and Paladin Danse’s empty power armor loomed from a corner of the room, casting a judgemental shadow across the floor.

Grey laughed along with him and took another gulp of her wine. “I think that’s the first story of yours I believe, Vadim.”

Vadim clutched his chest in mock horror and looked at the quiet man next to her at the bar. “Ah, such a cruel woman! Is this kind of woman your Brotherhood recruits, Mister Paladin?”

“I find Knight Grey’s assessment… not inaccurate,” Danse said carefully and sipped his whiskey with equal reserve.

“I think that was almost joke!” Vadim wagged his finger at him. “We get there eventually, Mister Paladin. Just need a little of finest drink in Commonwealth and we’ll see.”

“Perhaps some other time,” Danse said solemnly. “Someone needs to be fully in possession of their faculties if half the team is going to be inebriated.”

Grey slurred cheerfully, “Only slightly inebriated, Danse. It takes more than a couple bottles of watery wine to knock me on my ass.” Danse snorted as she wobbled on her barstool and continued to sip the single glass he had been nursing all evening.

Vadim exclaimed, “Watering wine! Cruel, cruel, I tell you.” He shook his head. “I go help Yefim close bar for the night and maybe your temperament improves while I’m gone.”

“Not likely!” Grey grinned wolfishly and raised her glass in a toast. “Feel free to keep hopin’ though.”

As Vadim slipped from behind the bar to the backrooms, Danse turned to Grey. “I’m going to use the facilities and then I think we’re done for the evening, Knight.”

“No problem, 10-4. Once I finish the end of this bottle, we’re good to go, Mister Paladin sir.” Grey wobbled cheerfully again on her barstool. Danse rolled his eyes as he pushed away from the bar, leaving her to pour her last glass alone.

Head resting on her chin, Grey hummed idly along with the radio as she sipped. It had been a good op earlier today. The tip about super mutants in the Boston Public Library had been accurate and it had gone smooth as silk, she and Danse working in tandem, sending at least a dozen of the green bastards back to hell as he liked to say. Grey’s idle thoughts were interrupted by the stranger sidling up to the bar next to her. He was an oily man she had clocked staring at her earlier that night, but she had assumed he would see the Brotherhood uniform and think better of it.

“Hey, sweetheart! How you doing?” 

Grey side-eyed him over her glasses. “I was jus’ fine when I was drinkin’ alone.”

He flashed his teeth in an ingratiating smile. “Aw, c’mon… Don’t be like that, sugar. Let’s get to know each other before you make any final decisions.”

“No, I think I know everythin’ I need to already, pal. Just move along. Nothin’ to see here. Et cetera.” She slurred a little on the ‘et cetera’, but her voice was still firm.

“C’mon, don’t be a bitch, honey,” he wheedled. His hand crept down to her ass. “That catsuit of yours really shows off the goods. There’s plenty to see”

Grey flipped around, slipping off her barstool to stare him down coldly. “I said no, asshole.” She pushed him back hard with a hand in the center of his chest and he stumbled backward. “I’m not gonna say it again.”

“You stupid bitch!” He raised his hand to deliver an open-handed slap.

In an instant, her 10mm sidearm was in her hand and the end of the suppressor was pressed into his chest in one smooth, practiced motion. Grey smiled easily at him, her finger on the trigger, and her voice was suddenly clear as the moonless night outside. “That’s going to be your last mistake, dumbshit.”

She heard a familiar voice say behind her, “Stand down, Knight.”

Without turning her head, she said, “Danse, did you see what he thought he was going to do?”

“I saw what happened, Knight Grey, and I said stand down.” Danse stepped past her and grabbed the wide-eyed man by his collar. He pulled his fist back and addressed him gravely. “Believe me, I’m doing you a favor tonight, civilian. However, there won’t be a second one in the future.”

Grey rolled her eyes, turned back to the bar, and slapped her pistol down on it. She thumped emphatically down on her stool. There was an equally heavy thump behind her as Danse’s fist met face and the stranger hit the floor.

Vadim and Yefim suddenly appeared out of the backroom as Vadim exclaimed, “I cannot believe! Such trash in my bar. Many thanks for lack of gunfire. Blood is such a chore for Yefim to mop.”

Yefim just sighed, long-suffering. “Right. I’ll help you drag him out, Paladin.”

Grey downed the rest of her glass in one gulp and, when Danse returned, she spun on him, slur back in full force. “Shoulda let me shoot him. Someone’s gonna eventually, might as well get it over with. Or did you think I drank too much to shoot straight?” She irritably poked a finger at his chest.

Danse looked at her severely. “I know you had the situation well under control.” He paused and continued more quietly. “You shouldn’t have to dirty your hands on scum like that.”

Grey paused, then said carefully, “Well, chivalry’s still not dead, huh?”

Danse sat back down on his stool again and said equally carefully, “No. No, I guess it’s not.”

They sat in silence for several long moments, long enough for the song on the radio to change to I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire. Looking slyly over at him, Grey said, “Well, while you’re bein’ a gentleman, you should probably dance with me.”

“What?!” Danse was aghast at the impropriety.

“Dance with me.” She slid off the barstool gracefully despite a wobble and extended a hand to him.

“Grey... I mean Knight... I… I don’t think…”

“C’mon, Danse, it’s easy. There’s no COs here to say if it’s appropriate. Travis is even playing a slow song, lucky us.” Gently wistful notes were echoing in the empty bar. “A gentleman can’t refuse a lady a dance, can he?”

Not for the first time, he noticed her shining grey eyes and the small smile she seemed to reserve for him. Where did she even find lipstick like that in the apocalypse? Danse adamantly derailed that train of thought yet again. Absolutely not proper for a commanding officer. However, after a long moment, he gingerly took her smaller hand in his calloused one and she immediately grabbed the other. “Put your hand on my waist and I’ll put mine on your shoulder. See, you just sway back n’ forth to the music. Nothin’ fancy.” She guided him in a slow circle as the song floated along around them, bittersweet.

Danse’s eyes widened in alarm as Grey rested her head on his chest. She was humming softly along with the music, her eyes closed. He heard her say quietly from below his chin, “This’s nice. Reminds me of before.” His face softened. Before the world had exploded along with almost everything she knew, she meant. It must be rare for her to find a moment of peace from it now.

As the song wended its way to the end, they slowly separated. Crazy He Calls Me started up next. Grey smiled, sweetly, terribly, up at him, still swaying to the music. “Well, what do you think of slow dancing, Mister Gentleman? Up for another one?”

Danse hesitated and his stomach fluttered a little. “Perhaps… Perhaps a second song. Repeated drilling is key for acquiring new skills.”

Grey laughed lowly and stepped in to him again. “Right, Danse. Just one more song.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's links to the two songs, just in case:
> 
> Crazy He Calls Me - https://youtu.be/_mitLcbHHz8  
> I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire - https://youtu.be/6l6vqPUM_FE


End file.
